Neon Panic

For the first time in my life, I made money off a medical procedure. Minor surgery (I'm fine, thanks) and the surgical technician found out I wrote mysteries. He pulled out his phone and bought Rented Grave on the spot. Royalties won't even cover my co-pay, but it was a lovely gesture. Thanks!

[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Legacy and Brilliance of Hong Kong Crime Novels: Charles Philipp Martin’s 𝑅𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒” by Susan Blumberg-Kason 📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Charles Philipp Martin, Rented Grave: An Inspector Lok Novel, Level Best Books, 2024. 305 pgs. There is something about Hong Ko…

Some reviews are enthusiastic, some quick and dirty. And some, like this one from Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, are beautifully written and filled with insight. Many thanks!

That is an irresistable pose.

Good reviews are always welcome, but I particularly enjoy accolades from unusual quarters. As Neon Panic was set in the world of orchestral musicians, the journal of the Australian Strings Association gave it their recommendation. Many thanks to AUSTA. (Rated V for excessive violins).

When is the president going to get serious and put a tariff on foreign mystery/suspense novels. We need to protect local authors from unfair competition by English, Scottish, Irish, and Australian crime novelists, not to mention translated works by (gasp!) French and Italian writers.

Chicago Sun-Times prints summer reading list full of fake books Reading list in advertorial supplement contains 66% made up books by real authors.

Fake book recommendations via AI in a major newspaper. How to insult readers and writers in one go. This is absolutely inexcusable.

Authors Erica Miner, Charles Philipp Martin, and Tessa Floreano at Edmonds Bookshop.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of discussing whom to murder, and how to do it, with mystery authors Erica Miner (l) and Tessa Floreano (r) at the wonderful Edmonds Bookshop in Edmonds, WA. Everyone made it out alive, BTW.

If you're in the Seattle region, please drop in to Edmonds Bookshop Thu 5/15 to hear three mystery writers chat about their work. Musican Erica Miner, author of the Julia Kogan mystery series, and Tessa Floreano, who writes wonderful Italian historical mysteries, will join me for a diverting hour.

TT65: Rented Grave Quickly and easily listen to Mysteries to Die For for free!

From TG Wolff at Mysteries to Die for, a delighful and perceptive deep dive into Rented Grave, including a music-enhanced reading of the opening. Thanks so much for this brilliant work and perceptive comments.

Stack of books with Charles Philipp Martin's Rented Grave right under Ngaio Marsh's Photo Finish at Pegasus Book Exchange in Seattle.

A sincere thank-you to Pegasus Book Exchange in West Seattle for supporting a local writer (2nd from top). And thanks also to the alphabet, for placing me right under Ngaio Marsh!

A delightful promo video from Partners in Crime Tours, who have done some fabulous work for Rented Grave and its humble author.

"This is the kind of crime thriller that you do NOT stop reading..." A lovely review from @fullybookedinky.bsky.social

A thousand thanks!

www.instagram.com/p/DFu6UL4RkF...

"And what fresh hell is this?"

Excellent point.

I love his work. Such a New York character, inseparable from the mood of the city back then, or at least, how we like to think of the city back then.

Should we care if it's a Twitter clone, if it's better and draws sane people?

If you're in Seattle, join me and 9 other writers for a night of mystery at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. Each of us will read a bite-sized sample of something we think will grab you. Monday, 3 February at 7pm. Great fun, so don't miss it. Hat-tip: Sisters in Crime Puget Sound.

Yes indeed.

I read War and Peace in a half hour. It's about Russia.

Tell that to Stalin and Pol Pot.

Me: Here's my new crime novel.
Smart, engaging 31-year-old (staring at book as if it’s a sea creature usually photographed at a 3,000 ft depth but somehow washed up on the beach : “Well, I don’t normally read things like this, but it looks like something my parents would like.”

To those who miss B. Dalton and Tower Records: remember that they were putting independents out of business long before there was an Amazon.

"Take up a trade" can be a deceptive phrase. It takes years of training to be a top-flight auto mechanic at a dealership, and they make a lot more than teachers or many others who require advanced degrees. Yet many consider it a lesser accomplishment.

Sacrilege alert: it is NOT the Elements of Style, which I don't recommend. Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools gets into the nitty-gritty of sentence structure in a way that few other writing books do.

I had no idea that the world of fiction publishing offered enough suspense to make a movie plot.

Movies about publishing need to become a genre, like rom-coms or police procedurals.

Oof. But true.

*stares at book-shaped present*
Please let it be a book!

Last minute gift idea:

A book.

Keep following me for more expert shopping tips.

I looked up "What to do with a dead narcissus" and autocorrect gave me "What to do with a dead narcissist" and I've got a good start on my next novel.